Transport fares should have gone up beyond 30% – Drivers

But for the non-increment in salaries, lorry fares would have gone up by more than 30%, the Concerned Drivers Association (CDA) has said after the latest hikes by 20%.

The drivers said even though they wished fares remained the same, they were left with no choice due to the increasing cost of operations that have made life unbearable.

The drivers were hoping for a reduction or removal of taxes that add to the price build-up of fuel, but the government’s failure to cushion Ghanaians compelled them to take drastic action.

“The last increment was done in February 2022. At the time, fuel was sold at GH¢7.99 per litre, but now it goes for GH¢11.30 per litre. Look at fuel prices, the cost of tyres, and lubricants, these warrant a 30% increment, but we all said wages have not been increased, so if we do it that way, it will be hard on everyone. So, we agreed to start with 20%,” David Agboado, Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the Concerned Drivers Association, said.

A section of commercial transport operators are already charging 20% more on transport fares after a unilateral decision by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to increase fares without consultations with the Transport Ministry and the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC).

This has created confusion as some drivers are charging arbitrary prices for transportation.

Justifying their actions, Mr Agboado told Citi FM that: “Negotiation for possible fare increment started in March 2022, and we’ve written to the Minister of Transport four times, but there was no positive result and because we are business people, and we don’t want our business to collapse we have to act. We don’t want to run at a loss, so we did what is right”.

However, the GRTCC has asked Ghanaians to disregard the directive by the GPRTU because they acted ahead of an official meeting of the tripartite committee that deliberates on transport fare increments.

The drivers have been pushing for fare increments for several months due to the rising cost of fuel and other products.

They also cited high import duty on vehicles and an increase in the cost of spare parts and vehicle lubricants as part of the numerous reasons.

The GPRTU pointed out that numerous taxes have ballooned fuel prices at the pumps, but the government was unwilling to address the situation.

A similar situation compelled drivers to embark on a one-day nationwide strike in December 2021.

However, they returned to work after negotiations with the government and assurances of a solution to the problem.

Currently, the oil price has increased to a little over $111 per barrel on the international market.

The situation has been compounded by the depreciation of the Ghana Cedi against other major currencies.

The price slightly dropped about a month ago, after the government announced a 15 pesewas per litre reduction on the product for three months.

Since 3 January 2022, the fuel price in Ghana has increased by approximately 45.7 per cent.

The last transport fare review was a 15% increment on 26 February 2022.